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sleb22

What to get next?

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Looking at my next purchase.  Deciding between the Sand Viper, Blitzer Beetle and Racing Fighter.  Just want to add to the collection, I just use them for bashing around. Like the new Terra Scorcher, but that isn’t out for a few months.

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Well, usually the consensus in deciding between 2 kits is ‘Buy Both’, so now it’s looks like your case you’ll be buying 3 👍🏻
 

All 3 are great choices Sand Viper & Blitzer Beetle are on the same chassis, one being Polycarb body the other a hard shell. 
 

I found with my Stadium Blitzer ( same chassis again) to be a fantastic basher, but making it go to quick I had to stiffen up the Diff or it just spun around in a circle most of the time. 
 

The Racing Fighter would be my pick I think as they seem, from what I’ve seen although don’t own one yet, very durable even with ridiculous brushless motor thrown in them. 

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What do you already have? And do you want more cheap and cheerful bashers so you can run more, or will this be an extra for the fleet which means one more on the shelf when you're running them? Stuff like that matters to me as I have sacrificial TT02B's for others to run and save the rereleases for lighter running.

I don't have any of those but I like the look of the Sand Viper the best (and doesn't it come with bearings and a few hopups already?). The DT03 looks long and skinny to me, like a snake, which means those names are the wrong way around

I reckon beetles should be of the monster kind.

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3 hours ago, Re-Bugged said:

All 3 are great choices Sand Viper & Blitzer Beetle are on the same chassis, one being Polycarb body the other a hard shell. 

Nah dude, I think you are getting the Sand Viper mixed up with the Bear Hawk or Falcon. Sand Viper is DT-02. 

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11 minutes ago, berman said:

Nah dude, I think you are getting the Sand Viper mixed up with the Bear Hawk or Falcon. Sand Viper is DT-02. 

Well blow me down with feather. My advice would be don't listen to a word I say then :blink:. (First day after nightshift is always a bit hazy-_-

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So, all three are 2wd buggy platforms.  Let's look in detail:

Blitzer Beetle - iconic, great looking and tough as old nails.  I run mine with a stadium truck body and an Acto Pink motor, putty in the diffs and a 3-Racing DT03 shock set.  Those small mods help to tame the hot motor, but ultimately it was never built to be a high performer.  The chassis is based on the older Bear Hawk buggy but bigger wheels and (IIRC) different gearbox internals.  Mine is one of my favourite runners (although I rarely run anything these days).  Stock tyres are known to be poor.  If you run on grass or dirt, Schumacher tyres are better.  I have a set of Proline road tyres mounted on a spare set of wheels but they are very heavy compared to the stock tyres, which affects handling.

The only thing I've ever broken on mine is the stub axle and a rear wheel, both on the same corner in different incidents...  Odd.

Sand Viper - I've never owned one of these.  They were a new release when I was just getting back into RC and they've always been on my wish list, I've just never got around to buying one.  I love the look - there's something of the Astute about them - and I loved that Tamiya threw in bearings and oil shocks with them, suggesting they are more than just an entry-level buggy.  The only one in your list that I don't have - but still want.  Maybe this year...

Racing Fighter - I knew I had to have one of these as soon as they appeared.  To my mind, it's a modern Fox, especially the Racing Fighter body.  IIRC gearbox is the same as the DT-02 but has a longer, narrower chassis like its more advanced contemporaries.  A solid design with good hop-up support.  I enjoyed building mine but haven't run it a lot as I don't get to race modern buggies often.

Any of the above will do you well for back-yard bashing.  The Blitzer is probably the easiest build but with the most scope for customising the body.  Bigger wheels gives you more terrain options too, although don't expect it to handle long grass or big rocks.

The DT-02 and DT-03 do exactly what they do.  Both will be a slightly more involving build than the Blitzer.  In back-yard terms there isn't much to set them apart.  The 02 might have a slightly smaller turning radius if space is an issue.  I'm no racer but I have heard that the '02 is more suited to astro tracks and the '03 fares better on grass (mown tracks, not overgrown lawns).

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  9 hours ago, sleb22 said:

Looking at my next purchase.  Deciding between the Sand Viper, Blitzer Beetle and Racing Fighter.  Just want to add to the collection, I just use them for bashing around. Like the new Terra Scorcher, but that isn’t out for a few months.

What have you got in your collection so far? I'd say think about what you enjoy about your existing models, then pick a new one that gives you the same of enjoyment plus a bit of a new experience too. 

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Tamiya collection is a Dynahead, Rally Beetle and Dancing Rider, all with bearings. I also have an original Madcap I built in the 90’s.  I ran that all the time with my Associated RC10ce. (Still have the rc10 too)  I also have a Kyosho Blizzard.  Have 1/18 associated and Duratrax rally cars and 1/18 Losi slider. Also have a Vaterra Ascender and a Barrage.  Have 4 Orlandoos I built too.  The 1/18 I haven’t run in years. Never a smooth enough place to run them.  Used to race associated tc2 back in the day.   Now just looking for some fun rc I can take outside and use in parking lots, the street, yard or some dirt.  If you guys have any other suggestions I am open.  I was looking some more yesterday and liked the Brat and even the comicals as they look tough as nails.  Like the Konghead but not the bodies.  Thought I had it narrowed down to 3, but guess not.

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For general bashing duties I'd like to recommend a DT03T Aqroshot, but use the stock wheels fitted with Schumacher Vee2 front tyres and Vee4 rears. These are a nice combination, I use these on my Blitzer Beetle. The kit tyres are road biased. But useful if you get another set of wheels, have an on road set and save the knobblies for the dirt.

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15 minutes ago, Bromley said:

For general bashing duties I'd like to recommend a DT03T Aqroshot, but use the stock wheels fitted with Schumacher Vee2 front tyres and Vee4 rears. These are a nice combination, I use these on my Blitzer Beetle. The kit tyres are road biased. But useful if you get another set of wheels, have an on road set and save the knobblies for the dirt.

This is exactly the chassis / wheel / tyre setup i have. I have a different truck body on it, but it's great for general mucking about. 

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Think I am leaning toward the DT-03, good price, comes with the torque tuned motor and caver shocks.  Will just need to get a bearing set.

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I enjoy my DT-03T - it is reliable, handles well and I find it pleasing to the eye. There are plenty of hop-ups for it if you want to bling it out, but it runs well with nothing more than a bearing set, steel pinion and a pair of metal gearbox bridges to toughen up the rear end. 

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TurnipJF, Thanks for the info, marked downed the gearbox bridges.  Did you stick with the 17 tooth pinion? I’ve always used bearings in all my builds.  If you know of any other points that should be addressed for the DT-03 let me know.  Think I’m going to go with the Racing Fighter.  Like that it is sturdy and not too complex, makes it good for some bashing and light jumping.

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2 hours ago, sleb22 said:

TurnipJF, Thanks for the info, marked downed the gearbox bridges.  Did you stick with the 17 tooth pinion? I’ve always used bearings in all my builds.  If you know of any other points that should be addressed for the DT-03 let me know.  Think I’m going to go with the Racing Fighter.  Like that it is sturdy and not too complex, makes it good for some bashing and light jumping.

Good choice!

I use a steel 17t pinion in mine because I am running oversize Mad Bull tyres, but if I was using buggy size ones I'd go for the 19t.

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I had already put an 18 and 19 on my list.   Now to decide on the color.

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Only other thing i have found essential is stiffer rear springs. The kit springs are very soft and lead to understeer and easy bottoming out. If you want some options to play with the 53927 DF03 (DF is correct, they are not the DT set) is good. I use the gold rear springs. Otherwise big bore springs from any racing buggies in 2.6lb rate are what to look for. Core RC are good in the uk. 

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13 hours ago, Bromley said:

For general bashing duties I'd like to recommend a DT03T Aqroshot, but use the stock wheels fitted with Schumacher Vee2 front tyres and Vee4 rears. These are a nice combination, I use these on my Blitzer Beetle. The kit tyres are road biased. But useful if you get another set of wheels, have an on road set and save the knobblies for the dirt.

Did you go for the blue or yellow ones Vee2 and Vee4’s , my guess these are different compounds? 

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1 hour ago, Grumpy pants said:

Did you go for the blue or yellow ones Vee2 and Vee4’s , my guess these are different compounds? 

Blue, they are the hardest compound, so the occasional thrash on tarmac won't destroy them in 5 minutes.

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